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Are We Back?

I've been traveling the last few weeks and ended my trip in Pittsburgh for the Ravens game. That was a heck of a game. And I think this team might be turning a corner. Couple things I noticed during the game.

1. Cam looks way better than Ziggy. Is he changing the whole complexion of the D? All of a sudden, back to back teams couldn't run on us. We're making tackles. And Timmons was all over the place making what seemed like every tackle in the game against Balt.

2. Kudos to Timmy. Seriously. He's gone beast mode these last 2 games and especially against Balt with 17 tackles I think I heard.

3. Troy might be the most talented player in the history of the game. The thing I really noticed about him on Sunday is after a mistake, he goes to another level. There was a series where he got a penalty in the 2nd/3rd Q (don't remember exactly) and after made 3 straight spectacular plays. I was in the endzone where the Ravens tied the game up and watched Troy leap the long snapper. That may have been the best play ever that didn't work out. But then on the next EP attempt, he was literally inches from blocking it. His desire to make up for the missed opportunity was almost better than his leap. Heinz field erupted like few times I've ever seen before when Troy made the leap. If I were DL, I'd really consider just telling TRoy to take a penalty now and then so he can go into Superman mode.

4. With all the well deserved praise going to Beachum and Whimper, I thought the real unsung hero on the line was Ramon Foster from my view. There were quite a few plays where he seemed to manhandle Ngata. I'm surprised I haven't really heard anyone talking about it.

5. Before Manny's return at the end of the game, he came on the field jacked up with a look in his eyes. Being 10 feet away from him before the kickoff, I knew what was coming. I told everyone around he was running it back. Everyone thought I was crazy. And they were going nuts/angry when he ran it out of the end zone. I'm not sure the Ravens even knew he was back there. We kinda just slipped him in there instead of Felix at the last minute. And I think the plan all along was to have him run it out of the endzone from anywhere if the ball wasnt kicked out of the back of the endzone. He never considered taking a knee. I think it was a designed play.

6. Haley's still very predictable. Not sure if I know what's coming because I watch every game, but I felt like if I know every time we're gonna pass or run, the Ravens have to know too. The only play I didn't expect was the shovel pass to Miller for a TD. And that scored for us. Makes me think we should try to be more unpredictable other times too.

7. Bell looked good, but so did the line. Not sure who deserves more credit. But Bell seems to be able to balance patience with hitting the hole decisively and quickly better than any RB we've had in a long time. And he's much quicker than I thought he was for a big guy. Nice job on the direct snaps.

8. Couple nice plays by Willie Gay saved our butts. He gets hammered unfairly by the fans. He's a really solid CB. Im staring to believe this D might be able to carry the team. We might only be an NT away from having one of our best D's ever. Looks like we figured out how to tackle again. I heard so many people in Pittsburgh complain about DL. Nothing could be further from the truth. His system is sound when players make plays.

9. Fantastic seeing Ben win on a game winning drive. I can't remember the last time that happened. That's exactly what this team needs. Eliminate turnovers, make tackles on D, and get Ben to pull it out in the end. Sanders stepping out of bounds on his return may have been a blessing in disguise.

10. The RZ efficiency is a joke. But a play here or there could change that. Moye this week and Brown last week. Even with the drop, I'd like to see more of Moye in the RZ. His one catch was brilliant and earned him another look imho.

11. Aside from the game, I met some nice Ravens fans this weekend. The couple sitting next to me were busting Flacco's balls more than me. Funny stuff. And I met a Steeler fan from Mexico at the game that was hella cool. Made the treck all the way from Guadelajaro. Awesome to see that kind of commitment and fandom even when we started the season 0-4. The crowd in general was more into the game than I expected with our record. It's like the majority still agree with Ryan Clark that we're going to the playoffs. And even with our hole, this team still looks like it has a puncher's chance.

8. Couple nice plays by Willie Gay saved our butts. He gets hammered unfairly by the fans. He's a really solid CB. Im staring to believe this D might be able to carry the team. We might only be an NT away from having one of our best D's ever. Looks like we figured out how to tackle again. I heard so many people in Pittsburgh complain about DL. Nothing could be further from the truth. His system is sound when players make plays.

Yep! All that. Plus a number of coaching moves on both sides of the ball really paid off.

What interested me most was the announcers did mention that TP was being used more like a Linebacker and Sharko was taking over what he normally does. That's a lot of responsibility for the Shark but he seemed to handle it very well.

Frankly I did not understand or notice this, but it sure sounds cool and I certainly could see the reason for it. IMO the team is now playing at bare bones strength. Guts and know-how can only carry you so far.

The D kind of ran out of gas at the end, if TS can get just a little more out of some of the new players to help the depth problem things could go well.

Here is what I have been reading and hearing from the detractors about the team. Jets: They beat a Rookie QB who made enough mistakes to lose 5 games. Ravens: They didn't really show up. Too many banquets. They put near zero pressure on Flacco who has been bad of late and he nearly beat them.

Needless to say this is another big game this week. TS have not done well there the past few trips. Ben seems to have problems out there. Win this game--- sure--- they are back in the hunt.

I think we still have a steep uphill battle. I don't have to wait until week 15 -17 to look at scenarios or who has to help who. The Steelers need to take care of their own if they want to get out of their hole they dug. The Steelers can not lose to anyone in the North, they can not lose to more than one AFC team, and they better not drop more than two the rest of the way. Possible path...Steelers lose to Pats & Packers and win the rest...I think they may have a slim shot to win the North. That would mean Bengals dropping 3 besides the 1 to the Steelers. GO JETS!!! Wildcard is thrown out...Not playing for that. There are 8-10 teams playing for 1 spot right now...Win the division!

What interested me most was the announcers did mention that TP was being used more like a Linebacker and Sharko was taking over what he normally does. That's a lot of responsibility for the Shark but he seemed to handle it very well.

Interesting tidbit that the anti-Lebeau crusaders seemed to have missed. We always hear that he doesn't make adjustments. The D lost their starting ILB to start the season. They tried two others in the position, but did not get the desired results. So, Lebeau brought in a rookie safety to essentially replace a rookie linebacker and went nickel most of the game.

The D went 7 quarters without giving up a TD. My biggest issue with the D was not that they did not play well, rather it was that they became less aggressive as the game went on. They gave up 129 yards and 6 points in the first half. They were harassing Flacco and causing incompletions. In the meantime, the offense put up 162 yards and 10 points, but also took their foot off the pedal in the second half.

"Sanders stepping out of bounds on his return may have been a blessing in disguise."

I was thinking the same thing..this would have given the ravens time for a last minute drive

I gotta hunch a lot of fans were thinking the same thing.

Right after the game there were the usual instant negative threads. The D loses yet another 4thQ lead the RZ misses etc.

I did want to post that I was actually glad ES stepped OOB.[which I did] Realizing however how that might be taken so I preceded that comment with a glowing tribute to the guts and perseverence of the D overall.

Think about it. At times the D was playing with 2 1st year starting types on the front 3. Behind them at times there were 4 players with limited NFL experience. 2 rookies V. Williams and the Shark plus C. Allen and Worilds. 6 out of the 11 and while they did a lot of bending they also put together a lot of terrific 3downsets that forced punts or FG's. The growth upside here seems very promising.

But nonetheless I was still glad Ben and the gang closed this one out.

The D went 7 quarters without giving up a TD. My biggest issue with the D was not that they did not play well, rather it was that they became less aggressive as the game went on. They gave up 129 yards and 6 points in the first half. They were harassing Flacco and causing incompletions. In the meantime, the offense put up 162 yards and 10 points, but also took their foot off the pedal in the second half.

Hopefully, when JJ gets back they will be fresh enough to continue to harass QB's.

What interested me most was the announcers did mention that TP was being used more like a Linebacker and Sharko was taking over what he normally does. That's a lot of responsibility for the Shark but he seemed to handle it very well.

Frankly I did not understand or notice this, but it sure sounds cool and I certainly could see the reason for it. IMO the team is now playing at bare bones strength. Guts and know-how can only carry you so far.

Thanks for bringing up Shark. He's a gamer and he's so fast live. And he's just a rookie to boot. I can't wait to see him when the game starts slowing down for him and he can react without thinking. Kid's gonna be a special player. I'm thinking that the real unsung heros on this D are Shark, Heyward, and Gay.

It looked like we were in nickle most of the game and it's becoming our base D. I noticed even Shark was near the LOS too and in coverage on the slot a lot. Ryan Clark was the only guy more than 10 yards off the LOS for nearly 90% of the plays. At least from what I could see from the closed endzone. I haven't gone back to watch the game yet.

Clearly the Steelers are more concerned about stopping the run and getting more guys in the box to make tackles and generate pressure. It's kinda odd that you do that when you've got a $120M QB on the other side of the field, but Flacco is awful and it makes sense to primarily take out Ray Rice. I was worried with Clark as the single high safety the whole game because he's not the best in coverage. And for some reason, the Ravens never attacked us with the deep ball.

I think we'll have to change things up a little against the Pats/Packers a little cause Brady and Rogers woulda been throwing deep all day against Clark.